I like all of the Black Keys albums up to and including 2010’s “Brothers”. After that, at some point during 2011’s “El Camino” album their sound became less organic, over produced and a bit too style-over-substance for my tastes. “Attack & Release” was “Brothers” more low-key predec...view item »

Fever Ray now. Brett's a major Knife fan, so much so he comes in of a
morn' dressed in strange crow costumes and dragging pine trees &
glitter around with him. He hasn't mastered the distinctive vocal
technique beloved of Karin Dreijer as yet. He just stands there
squawking obscurely whilst flapping his dubiously feathered man-arms
around ...view item »

“Brothers” was really well marketed and started to get The Black Keys noticed in places that they hadn’t previously been noticed. It was arguably their most accessible album at the time (2010) and has more of a punchy sound than its predecessor, “Attack & Release”
“Everlasting Light” is like ...view item »

This is a strong pop ballad band and this third album, Leaders of the Free World, is the best place to start because it has their most accessible melodies and the perfect mix of slow-tempo and mid-tempo pop ballads, which will draw comparisons, musically, to Coldplay and, vocally, to Peter Gabriel. Don't let these comparisons bother you. Elbow is n...view item »

Clap Your Hands came in with a huge bang on their self-titled album. What followed was a soft whimper that made a lot of people wonder if they truly had lost all that they had in one fell sweep. Hysterical is a welcome return for a band that could have easily hung up their tools and walked away. Granted they suffer somewhat in comparisons to new...view item »

This Semifinalists 'Last Pretending' 7" is weird, it's like they're doing some kind of 80s medley with really poorly chosen songs or something. There's big cheesy synths and limp guitar chugging with a ludicrous Steve Vai solo as well as some little drum machine bits that just sound like an 808 ripoff on it's factory settings being used by a c...view item »

These two have totally got a good thing going I reckon. Sometimes Mark'll rough up a tender, country-ish ballad of Isabel's and sometimes Isabel'll coo some femininity into one of his dark, whiskey 'n' Marlboro drenched blues numbers. Proper give and take shit. Plus it's probably a bit better for him to be hanging around the likes of her than th...view item »

Jim James’ debut solo album takes the changing sound of his band My Morning Jacket and runs with it, a bit less country-rock and more studio electronics. James played nearly all of the instruments apart from the drums and the strings. The album’s sound allows him...view item »

BRMC is in the right place and right time for me! You also have to be in the right place and right time for this album. I completely enjoyed this album from start to finish. Yes, it is more laid back than their last few albums before it but it is also in line to their earlier work, classic BRMC. Nonetheless, this album is full of great music, fe...view item »

So I gave this recent album a listen. The first few things I noticed - The guitar playing is tight, intricate and funkier than previous work. The arrangements are more complex, longer and complicated. The album isn't perfect, and I think that all of the effort that went into the music was not extended to the lyrics, and some of the lyrics just s...view item »

The opening track on this much more fully realised album by the once-folk minstrels sounds so much like someone else it's driving me crazy. It doesn't rock as such but it's nicely upbeat. They now inhabit a sound which could be said to be somewhere between Sandy Denny, Kate Bush and class...view item »

The new Blood Red Shoes single is mental. It's hinges on the kind of blast beat you might come up with if you wanted to sound more like Slipknot or Mudvayne. It's backed by what the band refer to as a 'mean' riff and Laura-Mary Carter's now soaringly epic vocal hooks. It's sounds mega mas...view item »

I bought this album on the suggestion of a good friend, and while my first listen didn't cause immediate swooning, I found with a few more listens, I was pleasantly surprised and impressed. With each time through, I heard more and more layers and was really pulled in by the deliciously perfect harmonies. I'm a sucker for thick, richly sung melod...view item »

After dealing with the mess from the management in the success of their first album, CSS followed up with a emotionally charged and sometimes angry second album Donkey. This album La Liberacion, is CSS in a liberating moment where they find their stride apart from forces that keep their creativity in boxes. This is an exciting album with a varie...view item »

If you're a fan of bands such as The Flaming Lips etc... then you need to pick up this album. It's along the same lines as The Soft Bulletin yet very much different at the same time. Every song on here is a classic and the album flows together brilliantly. It's hard to resist such lush songs as "Tonite It S...view item »

The Procession 'Dont Let Go' single somehow managed to evade the reviews last week so it's getting mentioned briefly here. If you like feelgood American radio pop in like
Weezer, The poppy Beach Boys stuff etc then you might well dig this. 'Don't Hesitate'on the flip is like
Mungo Jerry or 70's era Elton John...view item »

Not sure what to make of these two. They seem to get plaudits across the board and old Jack White has been sniffing around (well they are two lovely ladies and we know how Jack is). The music is a pleasant slightly bluesy affair and if witch-step was a term for post Stevie Nicks ethereal, patchouli scented hippified folk performed by beguil...view item »

Blood Red Shoes: 'I Wish I Was Someone' (V2) Golly gosh there's loads of girls fronting spiky power pop groups these days, not to mention the plethora of folk strummers. This is a right angry racket full of full-on, full throttle guitars and pounding beats, angsty lyrics with issues to air. Maybe the Riot Girl movement's legacy surfaced twofold thi...view item »

As it stands, “Circuital” is the sixth and last album by My Morning Jacket. Their use of ethereal atmospherics and electronics is more evident here than any previous albums. The opener “Victory Dance” is a low, sinister groove which builds with layers of instrumentation and vocals b...view item »

The newie from the Smoke Fairies is a dark, lustful ode to one of the female Gladiators...only joshing. It is a dark lustful ode to something though. It reminds me of a modern day Fleetwood Mac with the folk music setting turned way up. It's a really nice song actually. The vocals sound sumptuous and the gently plucked guitars and subtle percuss...view item »

You'll feel embarrassed for liking this for about 30 seconds, before that feeling dissolves into unhinged glee. I definitely had a 'WTF moment' when I heard the opening bits of the first track, "Desert Island", followed by a mild panic attack, thinking that AiH had ditched everything I liked them for. Luckily, by the end of "Desert Island" I was...view item »

This newie from BLS is pretty sweet. It actually has a quite heavy sound that blows my preconceptions about these ruffians right out of the water. I thought they were like angry cats in a barrel, now I think that they are more akin to something a bit harder, like a mythical beast on a council estate scaring old folk. Side 2 has a really enchanti...view item »

The new single from the Smoke Fairies is sweet and pastoral. Yet it has more of a modern sound, which is a contradiction I know but as Mr Bruce Hornsby said 'that's just the way it is'. It's so sophisticated and professional....its like a speed date with a power broker. Its a quiet and understated single that is quite involving. It has some grea...view item »

I kinda like these two. It sort of shouldn't work looking back at their careers, but they've somehow managed to make a good thing out of this pairing. I only heard a bit of the album and one of the songs was a bit Bon Jovi for me but this tune sounds a bit useful. Lanegan's gruff vocals over some twangy gritty (i'm sure that word must get used i...view item »

Another good album from Minus the Bear. It's more pop oriented than the previous efforts. The production is more polished, and the songs are more radio friendly than the earlier MTB albums. But the songs are still great, and that's what matters after all. I wouldn't by any means say the new album is a sellout, more that the album actually reache...view item »

and finally finally I have the new single from Isobel Cambell and Mark Lanegan called Honey child what can i do. Can
I say it sounds like Belle and Sebastian or is that falling into a lazy reviewing thing? It sounds like one of B/S tracks when you crave
Stuart Murdoch
to sing on it to stop it bei...view item »

This is not really a dubstep album. Feels more like a club mix with dubstep spliced in here and there. A few of the songs have Rusko's classic dubstep vibe but this is because they are older songs he's been playing for awhile. The newer tracks have a much more dance feel to them. Not a terrible album by any means, just not the direction I expect...view item »

Top new single from Pheonix's 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' album that i'm pretty sure i've heard about a thousand times on the some advert running on the telebox at the moment. If you've not heard '1901' you are more than likely living in some other time or space...it's everywhere dude, get with the program! I've heard it and i can tell you it's we...view item »

When people talk or write about the band, the influence of blues music always seems to get undercut, or perhaps just ignored. The spirit of Howl displayed this blues influence more than the other albums perhaps, but BRMC's electric, hard-driven rock has always sounded very blues-based. On this album that influence is evident from the title track...view item »

I'm sorta familiar the Blood Red Shoes duo from there early gigs and i know Steve Ansell from previous projects The Oedipus and Projections. Both of these groups seem to have been a warm up to the ultra grunge formula they are now pursuing. As mentioned in the press release, this is pretty much a straight up grunge rock tune in the vein of The Pixi...view item »

Grandaddy by
numbers is this. Mind you it's the only track I like on the new album
which I thought was piss poor. Big chorus hooks which will both annoy and
entertain. You'll be singing it in the bath without realising....Now It's on indeed.......view item »

I expected a much raunchier and repetitive album. Blank's singing voice is great and "Leaving You Behind" is a particularly beautiful and completely unexpected track, considering her nasty-girl antics with Spank Rock - it will be stuck in my head for days. I know with the way that the pop industry sucks these days we will not be hearing Amanda B...view item »

Phoenix’s Lisztomania was the sound of the summer in 2009; the poppy, indie, feel-good track just perfect for having a right good dance to. The album is a treat for anyone hoping for a lesson in alternative rock joy. This French band really know how to hit all the right buttons, and even better, the right notes....view item »

After the mad unprecedented success of Raconteurs I reckon Brendan
Benson can cruise the highways and byways of solo stardom for some time
to come. 'Feel like taking you home' is the first single from new album
'My Old, Familiar Friend' and it sounds pretty damn sweet. A confident
little pop single that showcases benson's keen songwriting abili...view item »

Soulsavers is the guise of Rich Machin and he's seemingly unlimited supply of celebrity rock pals. 'Broken' is the follow up to “It's Not How Far You Fall, It's How You Land” and sees Machin reunited with Mark Lanegan and a whole host of folks you know including Will Oldham, Mike Patton, Gibby Haynes, Jason Pierce, Richard Hawley among ...view item »

AMUSEMENT PARKS ON FIRE is an odd name for a band. These are destined
for greatness some folks reckon. They're certainly a cut above the rest with
their unfashionable brand of shoegazy rock. It sounds like they've been
listening to Swervedriver and Dinosaur Jr if you ask me. Track 2 on the EP (In
Flight) came on and I thought it sounded ...view item »

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